I am a big fan of CPH Books - but this one I found myself frequently getting frustrated.
Rather than "The Lutheran Difference" perhaps it should be the "LCMS Difference" - the authors make some pretty broad claims about what all us Lutherans believe that go a long way outside of our Common Confessions.
Some sections of the book were spot on. Others were far too "American oriented". And others I just disagreed with.
Also they purport to "Explain and Compare Christian Beliefs" - but just as they lump all the flavours of Lutheranism together, they do the same for Baptists, Reformed, etc.
Maybe it is because I come from a non-Lutheran background that I was so easily bothered by how they dismissed other views. But I prefer to see some good arguments rather than "they misquote" or that they are wrong. This is the exact problem I have with many Liberal books.
I think they should have limited the topics they covered so that they could better compare the denomination and also so that they could stick with topics that most Lutherans do agree upon :)
I wish some of the comparisons were a little more in depth and a little richer, but overall, a very good book on the basic beliefs of the Lutheran church and a comparison as to how other churches view those same topics.
Lutherans never had a stable value system to call their own. They borrow values from Catholics and act like Catholics. This book reestablishes the Lutheran value system for the ELCA Catholic defector.
Read this on my kindle. I would recommend a hard copy. Would work well as a reference book to compare the differences between Lutheran beliefs and other Christian and non-Christian beliefs.
Don't let the length intimidate you. It is broken down in small chunks for easy reading. But it can be a bit repetitive and simple. This would be a good book to read in a study group.